The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired depressive disorder with anxious distress features is related to his military service, and he is granted service connection for this condition.,The Board has also found that the Veteran's headaches are secondary to his diagnosed depressive disorder and tinnitus. As a result, the Veteran is granted service connection for headaches.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows that the Veteran was initially diagnosed with depressive disorder during active duty service and continues to experience symptoms of this condition post-service. The Board finds that it is at least as likely as not that his acquired psychiatric disorder is related to his military service.,Regarding headaches, the Board found that they are secondary to his service-connected tinnitus and his previously service-connected depressive disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired Psychiatric Disorder (Depressive Disorder with anxious distress features), Headaches
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 23, 2018
- Citation
- 1817865
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 1817865.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
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Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for initial compensable ratings for obstructive sleep apnea and headaches, finding that the evidence does not support a finding of persistent daytime hypersomnolence or other manifestations consistent with a compensable disability rating under the criteria established by Diagnostic Codes. The matter is remanded to obtain additional information from the Veteran regarding his headaches and their impact on his daily life.
- Granted
The Veteran's OSA is granted as secondary to PTSD, but his headaches are denied due to lack of service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's headaches, which manifested as very frequent and prolonged attacks causing severe economic inadaptability, are granted a 50 percent disability rating for the entire period on appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran seeks an earlier effective date for a 30 percent disability rating for his service-connected headaches, which was awarded with a noncompensable rating at 0 percent. The Board is remanding the claim due to inadequate examination and the need for a new VA examination to evaluate the severity of the Veteran's headaches without considering the ameliorating effects of any medication.
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